Letter: Media manipulation

Every time the media reports about how much ammunition has been found at the home of a criminal, It is meant to cause shock.

This is the modern media’s job now. Shock equals ratings. The ammunition number that was given from the findings at the home of Adam Lanza’s mother was probably a truthful number. What the non-shooting public does not realize is that the type of ammunition makes a big difference. Someone who goes to the range for target shooting can go through quite a bit of ammunition. It may sound unbelievable to the non-shooting public but in the case of .22 caliber, if you have 1,000 rounds, you are starting to get on the low side if you do much shooting. To many, this probably gives the impression of a cabinet full of bullets when in reality, two people spending one day at the range can use that much. It is two bricks of 500 that can be held in one hand. This is not explained by the media. They can give a number and leave it up to the imagination of the public to comprehend. The same goes for what is reported as an arsenal of weapons. What constitutes an arsenal: three, five, 10? Does that include BB guns, too? This is left up to the imagination of the public, shooting and non-shooting. The media can get away without being completely honest with people because they are covered under the constitutional right of free speech; freedom of the press. This is the same Constitution that covers firearm owners under the right to bear arms. The one difference that the Second Amendment has is the wording “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.” This is the ONLY amendment that is clearly and strongly worded. No other amendment is worded as such. People need to understand that the media is just there to give a story and try to boost their ratings. It is up to the individual to do their homework and learn that there are many variables that the uninformed need to know to fully understand situations instead of blindly following any story that’s meant to boost ratings.